Denafrips Ares II

The Ares II will give you what you are looking for, especially relative to your current DAC.

However, you need to consider the end result you seek: "involving and analog sound" through the entire lens of your system.

Instead of starting a new thread, figured I would add to this one.

Picked up a used (only a few months old) Ares II off US Audio Mart. Had my eyes set on this DAC, and was lucky to grab this one as they sell almost immediately.

Fooling around with it, have come to the same conclusion as most after numerous testing; that OS/Slow filter selection sounds best. Very pleased with this DAC.

Now to my question for you digital guru’s. Today I started switching the Phase button on and off. When lit (opposite of the default ‘off’ I assume) it sounds better. The overall detail, especially in the mids and highs is better, more transparent, detailed, ‘airy’, less ‘veiled’, and separation seems better within the center image. I checked and rechecked my cabling, and all is as it should be. What would cause this? I’ve heard that certain recordings may like the phase one way or the other, but this improvement seems across the board and with all the CD’s I run through it. Does it have to do with the equipment I’m using behind and ahead of it?

Just very curious. Thanks in advance.

CD’s are being fed by a Yamaha BD-A140 Blue Ray/CD player (using as a transport) fed to the DAC via a digital cable -> Parasound ZPre3 preamp -> iFi MiniTube2 -> Belles 400A amp.

I do have have the Ares I , it’s a good DAC for the money, it’s bigger sounding than his bigger brothers, I listen to them all at Axpona.If you are talking musicality my guest the black ice Fx DAC will be the choice.Iam planning to get one for my other system, Read the review of black ice its stellar.